Sled-brake.



No. 862,165. PATENTED AUG. 6, 1907.

" J..P.IRONS.

SLED BRAKE. APPLICATION FILED. SEPT. 6,1906.

\umn llll 'ullllllllllllllfll UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

JOSEPH FINDLEY IRONS, OF MILAN, WASHINGTON.

SLED-BRAKE. 1-:- y W Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1907.

Application filed September 5,1906. Serial No. 333,315.

My invention relates to sled attachments and more particularly to a brake attachment therefor, which will be useful for all variety of sleds, sleighs, etc., and my invention consists of certain novel features of combination and construction of parts the preferred form whereof will be hereinafter clearly set forth and pointed out in the claims.

The prime object of my invention, among others, is to provide reliably ellicient means which will always be under the control of the driver or attendant, whereby a sled or sleigh no matter how he'avily loaded, may be checked or held against rapidly moving down a hillside or incline in the roadway and thus taking the strain off of the draft animals.

A further object of my invention is to enable great power to be applied to the brake whereby the sled to which the brake is attached may be quickly checked or entirely stopped as desired no matter how smooth and icy the roadway may be.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the sled will be held from slipping sidewise.

Other objects and advantages will be-hereinafter made clearly apparent, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application and in which Figure 1 shows a perspective view of my invention complete as applied to use upon an ordinary bob sled or sled for hauling lumber or other heavy loads. Fig. 2 is a detail view showing the controlling parts for my brake in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a view of the parts illustrated in Fig. 2 taken at right angles thereto. Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the supporting bearings for the controlling parts of my brake attachment.

In order to conveniently refer to the various details of my invention and cooperating accessories, numerals will be employed the same numeral applying to a similar part throughout the several views, and, referring to the numerals on the drawings, 1 and 2 indicate the runner of the bob sled or sleigh of the usual or any preferred construction, while 3 indicates the bolster which is connected to the runners and supported thereon as by the standards or brackets 4 or other equivalent means.

The cross bar or sub-bolster 3 is designed to support the bolster proper 5 in the usual manner, said bolster having the standard 6 as is common, whereby the load placed upon the bolster will be prevented from casually slipping off the same.

It will be understood that where two of the bob sleds are connected together the coupling bars or sections 7 are employed, said coupling members 7 extending forward to the bolster carried by the front sled (not shown).

My brake proper consists of the depending arms 8 of proper length to reach down beside each runner and engage a contiguous part of the surface of the ground or ice-covered road and in order to control the brake arms 8 it will be observed that they are rigidly attached or may be integrally formed with the shaft 9 which is mounted in suitable bearings 10 at the upper end of the standards 4 whereby said shaft 9 may be turned to depress or elevate the brake arms 8 as will be hereinafter particularly set forth.

It will be observed that in the present instance I have shown one of the arms 8 as integrally formed with the shaft 9, the other arm 8 having a square aperture in its upper end designed to fit over the square section 11 of the shaft. I also place upon the square end 11 the gear 12 which is designed to mesh with the controlling gear 13 located upon the stub-shaft 14, the outer end of said shaft being connected with the controlling lever 15, it being understood that said stub-shaft 14 is anchored at its inner end in suitable bearings or brackets 16 attached to the sub-bolster 3 as shown in Fig. 2. The controlling lever 15 is provided with the clips or ringlike members 17 and 18 which are designed to receive the terminal lever section 19, to the free end of which is attached a sheave 20 around which takes a rope or cable 21 as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. One end of the rope or cable 21 is secured to a part of the sled, in this instance the cross bar at the front end of the runners and the opposite end of said cable, after passing through the sheave 20 is extended forward to a point convenient for the operator, it only being necessary for him to pull upon the rope or cable to cause the rotation of the gear 12 and instantly force the brake arms downward into engagement with the roadway, and in as much as the lower ends of said brake arms are more orless pointed or sharpened they will take into a part of the trackway and retard the free movement of the sled or wholly check said movement as may be desired. It will further be seen that should the sled be inclined to move sidewise, said arms may be thrown into engagement with the trackway, the sharpened points of said arms taking into the snow or ice and such side movement checked. In connection with having the arms 8 sharpened at the lower end, said arms are also slightly beveled on the front edge, and are at such angle that should they encounter an object, such as stone or the like, they will pass freely thereover without injury to said arms.

In some instances I desire to use a frictional contact point 22 which may be readily adjusted or removed when desired, such contact points being clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

When the controlling cable or rope 21 is released the weight of the levers 15 and 19 will cause the elevation of the brake arms 8 thus automatically leaving the brake arms wholly out of contact with the surface of the ground or the trackway.

Suitable supporting bearings for the gear wheels 12 and 13 may be readily formed as illustrated in Fig. 4 wherein it will be observed that the member 23 having at each end suitable apertures or bearings 24 and 25 is shaped from a single piece of suitable material, the said openings 24 and 25 being respectively designed to receive the ends of the shafts 14 and 9 as more clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The member 23 is also provid'ed with the integral extensions 26 designed to be attached to the supporting member 27, which latter consists of a piece of suitable metal bent around the end ofthe sub-bolster 3 as illustrated in Fig. 2.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a reliably efiicient brake appliance for sleds, sleighs and the like the parts whereof may be made of any preferred material and any desired size deemed most suitable to meet the requirements placed thereon and While I have described the preferred combination and construction of parts deemed necessary in carrying out my invention I wish to comprehend in this application all substitute and equivalents as may be considered as falling fairly within the scope and purview of my invention.

Believing that the advantages, construction and manner of using my invention have thus been made clearly apparent, further description is deemed unnecessary.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters 9 rotatably' mounted in suitable bearings carried by the bolster or runners; brake arms extending downward from said shaft; a gear wheel operativelymounted upon one end of said shaft; a controlling gear 13 meshing with said shaft gear and a lever rigidly connected to the controlling gear whereby a pull upon said lever will cause the rotation of the shaft 9 and incidentally force the brake arm or arms downward into engagement with the trackway and wholly stop or check the movement of the sled.

2. The herein described attachment for sleds and the like comprising the combination with runners and a bolster thereon of a shaft rotatably mounted on said bolster, arms on said shaft, said arms fixedly secured to said shaft and extended downwardly therefrom the lower ends of said arms being preferably beveled, a stub shaft rotatably mounted upon the opposite side of said bolster and parallel with the first mentioned shaft, a gear wheel operatively mounted upon said first mentioned shaft, a controlling gear on said stub shaft, adapted to mesh-with the first mentioned gear, a controlling lever on said stub shaft, a sheave at the free end of said lever and a cable disposed around said sheave and having one of its ends anchored whereby when a pull is made upon the opposite end of the cable the lever will be elevated and the arms directed into engagement with the trackway.

3. In a brake of the class described, the combination with carrying runners and a bolster connecting said runners, of a shaft rotatably mounted in suitable bearings on said bolster, arms fixedly secured to said shaft,.a stub shaft on the opposite side of said bolster and parallel with the first mentioned shaft, said shafts extending beyond one end of said bolster, a gear wheel on said first mentioned shaft, a controlling gear on said stub shaft adapted to mesh with the gear on said first mentioned shaft, means to rotate said stub shaft and controlling gear, whereby the first mentioned shaft and gear thereon willbe rotated and the arms directed into engagement with the roadway, a supporting member for the projecting ends of said shafts, integral extensions on said member and a supporting strap carried by said bolster and adapted to engage said extensions whereby the extended ends of said shafts will be held from lateral movement.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. 

